2014 Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake first drive review
New high-performance estate delivers an appealing combination of big power and load-lugging ability
The XFR-S Sportbrake is Jaguar’s first high-performance estate. Unlike the XF saloon range, there’s no 503bhp XFR Sportbrake to provide a stepping stone between the sensible four and six-cylinder diesel estate models and the range-topping XFR-S, so if you want a V8-engined XF estate, it’s this full-house version or nothing.It’s a big leap up from the 271bhp of the next most powerful model in the Sportbrake line-up, the 3.0 V6 Diesel S, and there’s an equally yawning £30k price gap to the next most expensive six-cylinder model.Jaguar admits that it will sell only about 100 examples of the XFR-S Sportbrake (mostly in the UK) in its current life cycle, what with its thirsty V8 petrol engine and £80k-plus price tag.But there’s something strangely appealing about the concept of taking an inherently practical estate and turning it into a hot rod, in this case by bolting in the mighty 542bhp supercharged 5.0-litre V8 from the XFR-S saloon (and most recently the F-type R coupé).The R-S Sportbrake’s £82k list price makes it around £5k more expensive than Audi’s 552bhp RS6 Avant and just a few hundred quid cheaper than the 549bhp Mercedes-Benz CLS63 Shooting Brake. That’s ambitious pricing, given that it’s less powerful and is shaded on standing-start acceleration, especially by the all-wheel-drive RS6 (4.6sec to the Audi’s 3.9sec)

Ford 'overwhelmed' by stampede to reserve a new Mustang
More than 9300 people register for a chance to secure a new Ford Mustang during European football's biggest club competition
More than 9300 people tried to reserve a new Ford Mustang when pre-registrations for the European version of the sports car opened during last weekend's UEFA Champions League Final.Ford, which is a sponsor of European club football's biggest competition, invited prospective buyers to register online for a chance to reserve one of the first 500 new Mustangs destined for Europe.Registrations closed when the game between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid ended after 120 minutes of football. Ford reports that it surpassed 500 registrations about 30 seconds after the referee had blown his whistle to start the match in Lisbon.The new Ford Mustang will be the first ever to be made available across Europe when it goes on sale next year.Roelant de Waard, vice president, marketing, sales & service, Ford of Europe said: “We knew there was huge excitement building for the new Ford Mustang coming to Europe, but the response during the Champions League final was overwhelming." The 500 new Mustangs are allocated across 20 countries, including 130 right-hand-drive cars for United Kingdom. The successful applicants will be notified in the next few weeks, and then each customer

Ford gets a new design chief for Europe
Martin Smith, designer responsible for Ford's kinetic styling language, is to retire; Joel Piaskowski named as his replacement
Influential designer Martin Smith, who has led Ford of Europe's design group for the past decade, is to retire at the end of the year.Smith, 64, was responsible for instigating the Blue Oval's current 'kinetic design' language, which is epitomised by bold, dramatic body styling.As well as defining the current big-selling models of Ford Focus and Fiesta, Smith's design language adorned the first-generation S-Max and Kuga, the second-generation C-Max and the fourth-generation Mondeo.Smith also directed the creation of a number of significant Ford concept vehicles, including the Iosis, Iosis X, Iosis Max, Verve, Evos and the recent S-Max Concept.Further reading: Martin Smith's thoughts on the Ford Iosis Max concept.Ford has named 45-year-old Joel Piaskowski as Smith's replacem

So what do you think of self-driving cars?
Google's self-driving car has hit the headlines, but there are many questions to be answered before fully autonomous vehicles become a production reality
The announcement of Google's self-driving bespoke car today – as portrayed in the internet giant's video, below – has put the whole subject in the media spotlight.No doubt that Google has spent millions on the tech and has put self-driving in the mainstream media.The reality, though, is that they're not the only ones: Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Audi to name three have all promised to have self-drivers on the market before the decade's out.Further reading: Volvo previews autonomous car test scheme.Self-driving in cities has its attractions. Imagine a scene where you could read the paper or tackle the day's early e-mails as you're being electronically chauffeured to work. Older and disabled driv

Quick news: Aygo is go; China attacks pollution; Aston's £20m revamp
Toyota Aygo production is underway; Chinese government axes polluting cars; Aston Martin invests in production revamp at Gaydon
Production of the second-generation Toyota Aygo has begun in preparation for the city car's arrival in Britain later this year. The TPCA (Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile) factory in Kolin in the Czech Republic is building the car and its Peugeot 108 and Citroën C1 siblings. Production is ramping up, and by early June the plant will be working at full capacity, with 1000 cars coming off the line every 24 hours.The Chinese government will eliminate six million high-polluting vehicles from its roads before the end of 2014 in a move to bring down air pollution. The mandatory rule applies to vehicles that do not meet exhaust emissions standards. One-fifth of the affected vehicles are in the sprawling cities of Beijing and Tianjin, as well as Hebei Province – all northern regions frequently troubled by smoggy air in recent years.Aston Martin is investing £20m in an expansion of its manufa

Google begins work on its own self-driving car
Prototype self-driving cars built in order to explore the technology and software required for safe transport; real-world trials could follow
Google has revealed that it has begun work on its own self-driving car, building several prototypes in order to test how the cars perform in the real world.Currently the prototypes, which are simple two-seat cars with minimal creature comforts, are capped at 25mph. A display shows the planned route while a battery of sensors allows the car to 'see' 274 metres in all directions.The autonomous prototypes don't feature any of the common controls that we might expect – such as a steering wheel or pedals – because Google claims that "software and sensors will do all the work".Its early prototypes are basic in order to allow them to be as flexible as possible, so the company can quickly identify issues and areas of required development. Google's aim is to develop and deliver a car that can take you to your destination at the push of a button, removing the human element entirely."We’ve been working towards the goal of vehicles that can shoulder the entire burden of driving," said Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car project. "Just imagine – you can take a trip downtown at lunchtime without a 20-minute buffer to find parking."Older drivers can keep their

Public get first ride in Google self-driving carEarlier prototypes were fitted with a steering wheel in the event of malfunction, but the latest models leave back-seat drivers with no choice but to pipe down and enjoy the ride

Touring Superleggera roadster shows how Mini can embrace change
Electric powertrain and radical styling of Villa D'Este concept is proof that Mini accepts it must not simply reflect on past glories
Adapt or die. It’s an cliché, but no less true for that, and it applies to car brands just as much as it does animals, humans or plants.And BMW has decided that the moment has come for Mini to adapt. The first physical signs of this metamorphosis appeared last week in Italy at the Villa D’Este Concours D’Elegance, with the unveiling of the Mini Touring Superleggera, an Italian coachbuilt roadster that sits on an electric-powered, carbonfibre platform that almost certainly owes plenty to BMW’s i car programme.Though it wears the familiar grille, stares at you through a Mini’s round headlights and flaunts a pair of jaunty spotlamps, it’s clear that this is a different kind of Mini. The slightly barrel-chested body section has gone, to be replaced by subtly concave flanks crested by a strong horizontal crease.The Superleggera’s tail tapers in a way that no Mini’s has before - not least because the Mini has never really had a tail, unless it’s a coupé, roadster or an ancient Wolseley Hornet - and it’s

Claire Williams: my Grand Prix lifeMy perfect weekend: Williams, 37, is deputy principal of the Williams Formula One team . She reflects on reality TV, losing races and what she's learnt from her famous father

Audi RS5 V6 TDI-e prototype first drive review
Ingolstadt's new electric turbo technology produces stunning performance, potentially paving the way for a sporty diesel RS production model
A late-stage prototype Audi RS5, fitted with a very potent ‘e-boost’ version of the next-generation Audi 3.0-litre V6 two-stage turbodiesel engine.The new engine weighs 192kg, somewhat lighter than the previous version, and will arrive first this summer in the newly facelifted A6 and A7 in 215bhp and 268bhp forms. This 380bhp prototype, however, is expected to go into production next year, possibly as the first-ever Audi RS diesel.Like many of today’s higher-end diesel engines, the new unit uses two-stage turbocharging. The smaller of the two is lighter and easier to spin up, and is intended to give the engine more grunt at lower engine speeds. The bigger turbo takes over at higher speeds.The engine we’ve driven here is, however, something of a landmark design in that it uses electrical assistance to ensure that the smaller of the two turbochargers is spinning quickly enough to be active even at very low engine speeds.In simple terms, Audi engineers have added an electrically powered blower to the engine’s induction system, which, at very low engine speeds, forces air into the induction system, spinning the smaller turbo into life.This ‘e-booster’ is connected to the engine’s intercooler on one side and to the induction system on the other, pushing air through the smaller turbocharger impeller between start-up and 3000rpm.